KARACHI: With the so-called “million march” of the Pak Sarzameen Party, held on May 14, unable to make a major impact, this season of protests, public meetings and sit-ins in the name of rights for the people of Karachi is coming to an end as political parties will pause for breath in the month of Ramazan.

A newfound awakening is being noticed among all major parties with regard to the civic problems being faced by the citizens for a long time. The parties, whether ruling or in opposition, are trying to entice voters by holding sit-ins, taking out rallies and organising public meetings in which they talk about Karachi’s woes and present themselves as the so-called messiahs and saviours of this neglected city.

The next general elections are technically more than a year away, but Karachi has become a playground for the parties trying to show their loyalty and sincerity with its residents in a bid to capitalise on the division of the once united Muttahida Qaumi Movement and capture a share of the electoral pie.

The current month saw Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan spending two days in the metropolis and holding a Huqooq-i-Karachi march; the ruling PPP’s protests against the ruling PML-Nawaz; the Jamaat-i-Islami’s three-day-long sit-in in front of Governor House; and the May 14 “million march” of the PSP and subsequent police action in which its chairman was briefly detained.

The protest season actually began in April when the JI had staged a demonstration against K-Electric on Sharea Faisal. Then the PSP staged a sit-in outside the Karachi Press Club for 18 days. In between, the MQM-Pakistan also woke up and released a “white paper” against the poor governance of the PPP and then staged a rally for rights of the city.

But instead of focusing on the Panama Papers case and other burning national issues which have been the centrepiece of major parties’ events elsewhere in the country, the emphasis of all such programmes in Karachi was on the long-standing civic problems pertaining to water shortage, electricity, gas loadshedding and lack of sanitation.

Getting ready for the polls

Analysts believe the parties, in the garb of raising voice for the rights of Karachi, are gearing up for the next general elections as they have set their eyes on the city’s 20 seats in the National Assembly — 17 of them were won by a unified MQM in the 2013 general elections.

Prof Dr Ahmed Qadri, who teaches Political Science at Karachi University, believes that all the big talk by political parties about resolving issues was clearly election-related. “Every party works for elections ... this is their warm-up time.”

While major parties, including PPP and PTI, may think that they can improve their nationwide electoral tally in the upcoming elections by winning seats in Karachi where a political vacuum has been created in the absence of Altaf Hussain-led MQM, for the Dr Farooq Sattar-led MQM-Pakistan and PSP winning the seats is a matter of political survival.

The newfound interest of the PPP, PTI and JI in Karachi is only because each party pins hopes on the division of the MQM.

A difficult city

Dr Qadri, who is also the Dean of the Social Sciences faculty of Karachi University, said the metropolis was a difficult city because of its social challenges and a party might get votes if it talked about development and facing these challenges.

While the PTI and JI could join hands and contest the next general elections as they did in 2015 to fight the local government elections, the PPP is silently working on a plan to win more seats in Karachi. The construction of Tariq Road and University Road, efforts to improve sanitation condition in Karachi’s South and East districts and shaking hands with politicians such as Irfanullah Marwat, are all part of PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari’s plan to capitalise on MQM’s division.

Well aware of these challenges, the MQM-P and the PSP are also trying to make inroads with those voters who had previously supported the candidates fielded by Altaf Hussain. The MQM-P chose the path of Mohajir politics and the PSP is trying to sell the idea that being the former mayor of Karachi its leader Mustafa Kamal had all solutions to the people’s problems.

But it is a widely held view that every other party would have very slim chances if the establishment allowed the MQM-London to contest the next elections.

In a recent TV interview, former president Pervez Musharraf termed Karachi an “MQM-dominated” city and said Mr Hussain still had support in Karachi and those thinking otherwise were like the proverbial ostrich who buries its head in the sand.

Dr Qadri said nobody could predict at present which party would fill the political vacuum as each party claimed to have people’s support. “[But] to replace a charismatic personality, you need a similar personality with an equal stature.”

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2017